The Faraway Tree

Jo, Bessie and Fanny come to live at the edge of the Enchanted Wood where the trees, "a darker green than usual," whisper their secrets: "Wisha-wisha-wisha." In the wood is the Faraway Tree — a huge tree inhabited by fairy-folk and laden with fruit of all kinds from acorns to lemons. Its topmost branches lead to ever-changing magical lands above the swirling clouds.

The three children make friends with colourful characters like Moon-Face, Mister Watzisname, Silky, and the Saucepan Man, feasting with them on Pop Biscuits and Google Buns and sliding down the slippery-slip which spirals down inside the trunk. Climbing the tree involves dodging the dirty washing-water which Dame Washalot pours down the trunk at regular intervals and avoiding peeping in at the Angry Pixie, who throws things at those who poke and pry.

Excitedly, the children explore lands like the Land of Take-What-You-Want, the Land of Dame Slap, the Land of Topsy-Turvy, the Land of Spells, the Land of Goodies, the Land of Dreams and the glorious Land of Birthdays.

The first title of the main trilogy, The Enchanted Wood, was published in 1939, although the Faraway Tree and Moon-Face had already made a brief appearance in 1936 in The Yellow Fairy Book. A picture-strip book, Up the Faraway Tree, was published in 1951.

Over the years, the Faraway Tree stories have been illustrated by various artists including Dorothy Wheeler, Rene Cloke, Janet and Anne Grahame Johnstone and Georgina Hargreaves.

Non-Series Books

In 1952, a 4-part story appeared in Sunny Stories magazine. This story, "The Faraway Tree", was also included in Enid Blyton's Omnibus! published the same year, a special book that contained four other stories featuring popular characters...